Joe Clark with his wife, Joanna and daughters, Felicity (center), and Callie

Joe Clark is a husband, father and teacher at Rio Linda High School, in Sacramento, California. His daughters, Felicity (7) and Callie (5) attend North Natomas Westlake Charter School in Natomas.

Concerned that there is a great need for opportunities for father-daughter experiences where Dads can take the lead and make their daughters feel very special, Clark organized a father-daughter evening calledMy Princess & Me Dance, which took place last month.

According to Clark, 330 dads and daughters attended, and many were turned away as the turn out was much better than expected. Next year he says the plan is for 500 guests. It was also a fundraiser for the charter school.

My Princess & Me Dance for fathers and daughters raised awareness of the importance of dads in the lives of girls and raised money for North Natomas Westlake Charter School – Photo: courtesy

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Clark observes that the father figure is downplayed, and reinforced in the media. He points to caricatures like Phil Dunphy in Modern Family, Homer in The Simpsons, and American Dad. And this concerns him because he wonders what kind of men girls will seek to marry without an active father figure in their lives.

“Dad’s don’t see what they are missing,” Clark said. “Our expectations of ourselves as dads are pretty low; we’re letting the moms do all the work. It is almost as if mom is a single parent.”

Clark does not believe there is such a thing as a perfect parent, you simply do your best. And he is adamant that discipline of his children is well received when it is expressed with a caring heart. “I have earned the right to discipline my daughters,” he said.” Because they know I care.”

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4 ESV

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The objective of Banana Moments (click here to receive updates) is to help parents rise above the noise and the fray of the daily, weekly, monthly press of information and life’s stresses of family business. Banana Moments offers insights and inspiration to reinforce your own family values and help you lead children in this network culture that pressures all of us with things that don’t really matter and are largely not true.

About Joanna Jullien

Joanna (jullien@surewest.net) and her husband have raised two sons in Roseville, CA. She has a degree from U.C. Berkeley in Social Anthropology (corporate culture). Her honors thesis was awarded the Kroeber Prize and funding from National Science Foundation grant. Joanna writes to help parents with the modern-day leadership challenges of raising children. She is a contributing writer for The Granite Bay View, the Press Tribune, the Sacramento Examiner, and editor of Banana Moments.